The Hard Truth
by Corona 1
Summary: Original series. Oneshot. Karol Tracy reminises about a rescue that went wrong. it's up to Scott to try and ease her pain. OC centric to a point. sorry, I'm not brilliant at Summaries. R n R, Please?


Hey guys. I've been a fan of the Thunderbirds for a long, long time. I wrote this story a while back. It's pretty OC centric. In this, my character is John's twin sister, though it doesn't really have anything to do with the story. Just thought I'd let you know. : ) Also, it's set to the original programme, which, in my opinion, is the best of all.

This is my first fanfic of Thunderbirds, so please be nice! No flames, constructive criticism is always welcome. Tell me what you think!

Disclaimer: I don't own Thunderbirds, International Rescue, the Tracy family or any thing else that exists in Thunderbirds. All rights to Gerry Anderson.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The hard truth

Karol sighed as she looked out over the sea. The sand was so warm, and the waves were cool on her feet, making a nice contrast. Scott came out onto the balcony and looked down to his young sister. He smiled softly. Then he remembered his reason for looking for her. He walked down the steps and on the sand below. Karol smiled.

"You don't have to sneak up on me Scott," she said, turning round to face her older brother. He jumped a little, but broke into a smile.

"How did you know I was here?"

"Just call it woman's intuition." Karol smiled.

"C'mon, dinner's ready." Karol nodded. Looking out to sea once more she stood up and brushed the sand of her. Picking up her sandals, she walked slowly back to the villa.

Everyone was talking at the table about nothing really important. Karol sat quiet, picking at the rest of her food. Jeff eyed her, concerned.

"Everything alright, Karol?" he asked after a moment. Everyone stopped talking. They hadn't realised that Karol hadn't said anything since she'd come back. When he got no reply, he tried again.

"Karol?" Karol's head shot up.

"Hm? Sorry dad, did you say something?" she looked around at all the faces and blushed.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah. I'm just not very hungry, really." She lowered her head as she blushed a bit more, willing everyone to stop looking at her. Karol hated being the centre of attention. "May I be excused?" she asked after a while. Jeff nodded. Quickly, Karol jumped up and went to her room. Scott looked at his father, and then back at his sister's room.

"She was alright a moment ago. Do you want me to go and talk to her?"

"Not now, Scott. Leave her be. You can see her after you've eaten." Jeff knew that his daughter was possibly the quietest and shyest of the family, but even this wasn't like her. Virgil came up with an idea.

"Maybe she's still upset about what happened at the hospital?" he looked at the rest of the family.

"Could be. She felt really responsible after that," Alan replied.

The last rescue they had been on had taken place at a hospital which had collapsed due to an earthquake. Nearly everyone had gotten out, except a young boy. Karol had gone back in for him. She had found him alive, but as she pulled him out from under the rubble, there had been an after shock, causing a cave in, trapping her and killing the boy. When the others had managed to free her, she was cradling the small body. On the trip home she hadn't been herself, quieter than usual, unwilling to say anything about what had happened. A week later, they'd just managed to coax her into talking again. Now she would just retreat from everyone.

"Man, she took it really bad. Then again, I suppose I would've, too." Gordon said, breaking the silence. They all nodded.

In her room, Karol was laying on her bed looking at her ceiling. She was holding a small dirty bear- the bear the young boy was holding when he died. His family had said she could keep it. Memories of the day coursed through her head.

_Flashback_

"C'mon, let's keep moving! Karol, is that everyone?!" Scott called down the communicator on mobile control.

"_No, there's a boy left. I'm going to get him. I won't be long!"_ Karol darted back into the building. It was beginning to crumble. Gracefully, she climbed over solid pieces of wood and metal. Her ears picked the sound of a child's cries.

"Hold on, kiddo. We'll get you out!" she called. The boy's crying stopped as he began calling for help. "Can you tell me your name?" Karol asked, trying to pinpoint his exact location.

"Tommy, Tommy Jackson. Please miss, can you help me? I can't move. And teddy's scared!"

"Ok, Tommy, I'll rescue both you and teddy. You comfort teddy, ok?" she said smiling. She saw the boy pinned beneath the rubble. Looking at her watch, she activated her communicator.

"Scott, I've found him. He's pinned down beneath rubble. It shouldn't take me long to get him out."

"_FAB, Karol. Be quick. That place is going to come down."_

"FAB, Mobile Control. I've got it covered." She began moving some of the rubble out of the way of the boy. He was clinging tightly to a small brown bear which was covered in grey dust. One of its eyes had popped out and was now dangling by a string. The boy's face was covered with the same grey dust except for a pair of tear tracks that ran down his cheeks.

"Right Tommy, I need you to be very brave for me now, ok? I need you to try and wiggle out from under there. Can you do that for me?" Tommy nodded. Getting hold of his arms, Karol gently pulled him out from under the rock and metal.

"Good boy. That's it, just a little more. You're doing really well," she reassured him softly. He finally came out from under the rubble. Lifting him up, there was a shake.

"_Karol, the building's coming down! Get out of there, NOW!"_ Scott's voice called urgently from her watch.

"FAB, Scott. On my way …aagh!" falling rubble hit her legs, tripping her. She heard Scott shouting her name, and then a piece of rubble hit her watch, breaking it. She tried to hold the small boy in her arms as she rolled so that she was under him to break his fall. However, it was no use. Even though she rolled over above him, she couldn't protect him from all the rubble. A piece hit her in the back, winding her, and then another bounced of the ground, hitting the boy square on his head. Looking down, Karol saw blood coming from a large gash. It had been a big piece of rubble.

"No! Tommy, open your eyes. Tommy, you have to open your eyes!" His eyes flickered open, and he smiled.

"Take care of teddy?" he asked weakly.

"Hold on sweetheart. You're going to be ok. I'll patch you up, and then we'll both get out of here. Teddy's hurt too. I'll patch him up the same if you want?" The boy shook his head.

"Please, miss? Take care of Teddy? I might come and get him another day. Teddy likes you." His eyes flickered shut.

"No, NO, Tommy, open your eyes for me! Tommy!" She felt for his pulse. There was nothing. He wasn't breathing. She tried to get his heart beating again, performing CPR, but it was difficult in such a confined space. It was too late. He had gone. He'd never stood a chance. His injuries were just too extensive. Karol took the small boy in her arms as best she could, rocking him as if she was sending him to sleep. Burning tears fell down her face and onto his own ashen dust covered one, washing away some of the grime as they did. Ten minutes went by and she heard the familiar voices of her brothers calling her. Light suddenly flooded the area where she was trapped. Scott's face looked down at her, questioningly. She shook her head and hugged the limp form to her. When they had finally gotten her out, she had gone to the family and rested the boy in his mother's arms.

"I'm so sorry. I tried the best I could. Here's Teddy." She placed the small bear on his body. The woman began wailing and collapsed to the floor in grief. Her tears started Karol's own. She turned to walk away when she felt a hand hold her elbow. It was the father. He handed her the bear.

"You take it. Look after it. Thank you," he said, quietly. She nodded and hugged the bear to her body.

_End flashback_

Karol's eyes brimmed with tears again. She let them fall as she hugged the bear to her. Turning over, she came face to face with the picture of her mother. She started crying more. There was a knock at her door.

"Karol? Can I come in?" Scott's voice came through.

"Yeah," Karol said softly. Somehow Scott heard. Opening the door, he saw his sister lying on the bed cuddling the bear.

"Oh, Kitten," he said softly when he saw her tears. Coming over, he sat on her bed. Karol sat up. He pulled her into a comforting embrace.

"It's alright Kitten, it's alright. Let it out. You'll feel so much better," he said, holding her shuddering frame.

"Why did he have to go Scott? He was only young. Probably no more than seven years old. Why did he have to be taken away so cruelly?" Scott didn't have the answers to her questions.

"I don't know, Kitten. That's just life, I suppose. It's really fragile." He tried to comfort her the best he could.

"It should've been me, Scott. It should've been me that rock hit, not him! I was over him; I should've been able to save him, to protect him. I failed! I failed so badly! I failed all of you!" her sobs were becoming harsher.

"No, Kitten. You haven't failed. You haven't failed me or Dad or Gordon or Virgil or Alan or TinTin or anyone. You can't think that way, sweetheart."

"Then why couldn't I save the boy? He probably had plans, big plans about his future and now he can never fulfil them!" Scott pulled away and looked down at his sister.

"Karol, look at me," he ordered, lifting her head up his hands. Her red-rimmed, deep indigo eyes met his crystal clear blue ones. He brushed her golden hair out of her eyes. "There comes a time when things go wrong. We can't do anything to prevent them. Even us, with our 'great machines', we, International Rescue, can't stop Death in its tracks. We just can't. We're not miracle workers. We're helpers. That's our job. To help those who need help. But sometimes, we can't save everyone. No matter how hard you try. I'm sorry you had to find out like this. I really am. But we're all here for you if you need to talk. TinTin is here, Brains is here, I'm here. All of us. We all know how it feels to lose someone. Heck, you do too." He looked at his mother's photo near Karol's bed. "We all do." By now Karol's sobs had calmed down. She nodded and leaned against him. Scott looped his arm around her and pulled her into another warm embrace. She held onto her oldest brother.

"Thanks big brother," she whispered, taking in the heat from his body. She was beginning to fall asleep. Scott laid her down on her bed. Pulling the covers over her, he brushed her blonde hair away from her eyes again. He tenderly kissed her forehead and sat the teddy next to the photo.

"We miss you, mom. We really do." He turned and walked out of Karol's room, closing the door quietly behind him.

Karol had learnt a hard truth from the death of a young boy. It was difficult to move on from the death of a loved one, but she had her family around her. And they would always be there for her.

_Fin _

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, there you go guys. Hope you enjoyed it. I have a few more written up; I'm just contemplating sending them. Like I said- no flames please. Tell me what you think!

Thanks for reading!


End file.
